Lemony Snicket’s popular series of macabre books for young people, A Series of Unfortunate Events, has already seen at least some of its titles adapted into a film (which, if not great, is at least a significant step up from most of Jim Carrey’s other raids on the canon of children’s literature). Whilst said film didn’t quite prove a big enough hit to warrant adaptations of further titles in the series, a decade later Snicket’s work has found a home perhaps better suited to its episodic nature: Netflix.

The subscription streaming service has bought the rights to Snicket’s 13 books about the Baudelaire orphans and plans to use them as the basis for its first live-action family-friendly series, following the success of its initial forays into original HBO/AMC-style programming with House of Cards and Orange is the New Black along with several animated series.

Cindy Holland, vice president of original content at Netflix, says of the plans: ‘On the search for fantastic material that appeals to both parents and kids, the first stop for generations of readers is A Series of Unfortunate Events. The world created by Lemony Snicket is unique, darkly funny and relatable. We can’t wait to bring it to life for Netflix members.’

Snicket – the alter ego of Daniel Handler, author, musician, sometime member of The Magnetic Fields – says with characteristically gloomy drollness: ‘I can’t believe it. After years of providing top-quality entertainment on demand, Netflix is risking its reputation and its success by associating itself with my dismaying and upsetting books.’ To which Netflix adds: ‘Mr. Snicket’s participation will be limited, given his emotional distress, but the project has the full involvement of his legal, literary and social representative Daniel Handler, who is often mistaken for him.’ So at least they’re indulging the author’s sense of humour, which is as good an omen as any at this point for fans of the books.